Tony Blair's old school expels 4 for drugs

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - One of Britain's top private schools, Fettes College in Edinburgh, has expelled four pupils and suspended 15 others for using cannabis.

The school said the pupils were aged 16 and 17 and included boys and some girls.

Prominent former pupils of the school include former prime minister Tony Blair, actress Tilda Swinton and Tesco chairman David Reid.

"This investigation was started because various pupils alerted the staff to the fact that certain Fettes students were using cannabis," the school said.

The school "adopts a zero tolerance approach to the abuse of illegal substances and this policy is well understood by the pupils and their parents."

Founded in 1870, the school has 660 pupils from the ages of seven to 18.

"While it is highly regrettable that a small minority of pupils have shown very poor judgement, their actions must not be allowed to detract from the highly laudable achievements of the school as a whole," headmaster Michael Spens said.

(Reporting by Ian MacKenzie; Editing by Steve Addison)